Jahangir was born in Lahore in Pakistan on January 27, 1952. She obtained a LLB degree from Punjab University.

In 1980, she was called to the Lahore High Court and to the Pakistan Supreme Court in 1982.

She later went on to become the first woman to serve as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, according to The Dawn.

Jahangir had been an active participant in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy and had even protested against former Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq's oppressive military rule.

She was arrested and jailed in 1983 for opposing the then Pakistani regime.

She was the co-founder of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Women's Action Forum.

Jahangir also played a pivotal role in the 2007 Lawyers' Movement for which she was put under house arrest.

She was put under house arrest after when led an agitation along with lawyers in response to the former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf's decision of unconstitutionally suspending Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the Chief Justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court in 2007.

She was also a recipient of numerous accolades and awards, including a Hilal-i-Imtiaz and a Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2010.

Jahangir was awarded a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights and an Officier de la Legion d'honneur by France.

Jahangir is also a recipient of the 2010 Freedom Award and 2014 Right Livelihood Award.

Many people took to Twitter and paid tribute to the prominent activist.